Tag: Love

What do we seek above all else? Money? Success? Notoriety? Money is necessary to live, but it is only a means to an end. Money on its own is worthless. Success is not as sweet if you have no one to share your accomplishments with. […]

Image by Dominik Koppen “I’m starting to feel as gray and lifeless as the concrete that surrounds me.” – Bridgett Devoue @musings.of.a.fox Image by Nastia Cloutier-Ignatiev “I know you’re speaking, but I can’t hear you over the conversation I’m having with your soul.” – Bridgett […]

The birth of a child gives life to a new star in the heavens
Each star represents the life of a human on this Earth
There are bright shiny stars and stars that are fading
Some streak across the sky in a show of majestic superiority
While others disappear from existence without anyone noticing
There are billions of stars and I wonder to myself
How is it possible that you and I found each other?
How were we able to navigate this ocean of stars?

I started my journey with high expectations
A youthful spirit that had not felt defeat
But I got pulled into black holes and nearly lost my life
And with defeat came humiliation I almost turned back
Logic and reason told me it was a futile endeavour
So I hid in dark matter and sat in despair
It is there that you found me I will never know how
All I know is that now we are the brightest stars in the sky

One of our favorite musicians in the world is Enoch Attey. A man with a joy for life like no other. His energy is contagious and his spirit inspiring. His work with disadvantaged youth and multiple collaborations with others is evidence of his kind demeanor. So when he told us that he wanted to take some of the poems written by Jorge Robleto and turn them into music, we were ecstatic to see what the end result would be. Our wildest expectations were surpassed and now we are honored to share the first of a series of songs with you.

Enoch Attey is a musician originally from Ghana now residing in Edmonton, Canada. Connect with him through Facebook or Instagram.

I want your respect, not your body. I’m shooting for the moon, if I miss, I will fall into your arms. Illustrated https://www.facebook.com/illustrated911/ Saskatoon, CANADA Note: featured image by Samson Bush

I was a four year old blonde Hispanic boy who had recently moved to Canada with my family. There are few things I remember about that transition period except for my friends David and Jose. We were as different as the color of our skin, […]

Against the enemy of selfishness and Ego. We go through our entire lives worrying only about ourselves and all of a sudden are confronted with having to share everything with another person. What’s mine is yours they say. This process of reprogramming your mind is painful and slow. It takes time to change your vocabulary from one focused on MY to OUR.

This is OUR money. OUR home. OUR plans. OUR life.

Sometimes we are thrown into the middle of a war zone. Bombs are dropping all around us trying to take us out. Pride and anger make up the ingredients in a nuclear combination threatening our relationship. We may not make it out of this alive.

I wonder, why is it so easy to lose your cool with the person you say you love most?

There are days I believe I am making progress in overcoming the enemy. I make advances and are then forced to retreat. One slip up and we are back at the starting line. I apologize and promise to try harder, and forward we march again.

We are on the same side. Now I just have to remember that every time I am about to speak without thinking.

Think before you speak.

Think before you speak.

Think before you speak.

Damn it, I screwed up again!

But I put on my gear and set out to the battlefield. We may experience set backs, but we will never stop trying to make it work. We will make mistakes, but we will never quit. And that is what makes this union beautiful. The kind of beauty you experience after hiking up a mountain and reaching the summit where you pause for a moment and say… beautiful. That’s what I’m talking about here.

May 22 marks the day our lives became entwined in an eternal bond that is stronger than anything else in the world. It is the day we declare to all of creation that love still exists. It is real and it can flourish when nurtured with patience and understanding.

These are my two cents on what consumes my every thought, every move and every decision I make… Love is why I wake up. So here’s to many more anniversaries with you mi vida. Te amo hoy y para siempre.

“Anna” refers to the “Hogar Madre Anna Vitiello Orphanage” in Sumpango Guatemala, where I spent just over a week doing relief work with my fellow classmates from the University of Alberta. I wrote this song while sitting on my bunk bed in the orphanage after […]

Brandon Wint, a two-time national champion of poetry slam and one of Canada’s most beloved and well-respected spoken word artists, released his first full length album, The Long Walk Home, on April 22nd, 2016. The album, a unique one within the landscape of Canadian […]

Every morning I get up and read the news. It’s a habit I’ve had for many years now. Log on to yahoo.com or cnn.com and you will see that most news stories do not present the world in a positive light. Whether it is racist statements by presidential candidates, terrorist attacks in numerous places, or the latest celebrity gossip, there are many reasons to be pessimistic.

I sometimes observe the world like the sinking Titanic. Global warming is a real threat. We have contaminated our oceans and atmosphere in pursuit of wealth and economic power. We show little regard for how consumerism negatively affects communities in the third world, so long as as we have cheap food and clothing. Fear governs the day. We adopt a mentality of us vs. them and proclaim our nationalist views on social media. This reactionist sentiment could very well lead to a nuclear war. We continue to see income inequality in our most vulnerable populations. Racism is a monster we have yet to overcome.

Pretty depressing eh?

But what if this is just one side of the story? What would happen if I instead woke up and said, life is good? Not in an attempt to shield myself from the cruelty that exists, but in order to be inspired and motivated to do something about it.

When I say it isgood, that means that it can be improved. We do not live in a perfect world, therefore it is up to us to collectively bring about positive change. That change begins in the heart and mind. We must reboot our hard-drive that says, all is hopeless, and install a new worldview. We must feel empathy and love for every living being. We must bleed love. Your pain is my pain, and your joy is my joy.

I am saying nothing new. Philosophers, teachers and religious leaders have preached this message for centuries. But we need to be reminded each and every day.

So I awake. I turn over and see my wife slowly begin to open up her eyes. A shy smile starts to form around the edges of her lips. There is calmness in her gaze. I contemplate the beauty in front of me and say, IT IS GOOD.

I’m a producer and singer-songwriter currently living in Abu Dhabi in the UAE. My style is influenced by bands like The Lumineers and Of Monsters & Men, somewhere between indie-folk, blues and lo-fi like Feist, although I like to say I don’t really have a […]

we’re talking again.
and it doesn’t get old.
i’m feeling young again with your words.
taking me back to when it was us against the world.
and i didn’t know that i miss you.
the feeling washing over me like an angry wave.
and i’m scared to ask you.
are we going to stop talking again.
i can feel it.
we’re both on the edge.
scared of that moment that will take us away.
take us away from each other.
so we tread carefully over the words we say.
not wanting to break the dam that will let it all slip away.
all the words we try so hard not to say.
just wanting to keep this going for one more day.
and with each day it gets harder to hold our breath.
to hold our breath for when that moment comes.
foolish of us to think we are good at goodbyes.
we never really knew how to say goodbye.
no, not really.
just a smile saying all that we can’t say.
an embrace to make up for all of those that we’ll wish for.
holding hands till the very last second.
thinking it will keep us from falling apart.
holding back tears.
thinking it will keep the other stronger.
we’re talking again.
and it doesn’t get old.
and i’m scared to ask you.
can we keep talking for another day till all our days are over.

What is the inspiration for this piece?Keep Talking came to me at a time when I started talking to someone who I haven’t heard from in years. He was everything I hoped love would be about. Then life came in the way and we had to go our separate ways. Everything came back to us when we started talking again; how we loved each other, how we couldn’t say goodbye when we had to. We still talk to each other, but it is a different kind of love now, an appreciative one.